New purpose in life for
humble sludge with Brandix magic
-- Apparel giant donates unique sludge bricks to Marks &
Start for training centre for differently-abled --
Construction bricks made from primary sludge generated by
industrial waste conversion, will form the walls of a new
vocational training centre for the differently-abled in Sri
Lanka in an initiative that showcases innovation, environmental
conservation and caring by two apparel sector giants, Sri
Lanka’s Brandix Group and the UK’s Marks &
Spencer along with other suppliers to Marks & Spencer
in Sri Lanka.
The first consignment of these unique bricks developed and
produced by Brandix Finishing at Ratmalana after extensive
research and testing, have been donated to Rehab Lanka by
Brandix for the construction of a two storied training centre
cum workshop near the Khettarama Cricket Stadium. The project
is funded by Marks & Start, the flagship community programme
of Marks & Spencer.
Made out of primary sludge, used pumice stones and silica
waste from the sand used for sandblasting during the garment
washing, dyeing and finishing processes at Brandix Finishing,
these solid bricks have a compressive strength of 3.2 Newtons
per square millimetre, more than double that of the standard
concrete blocks used in construction.
Significantly, the cost of production per brick at just Rs
14 (excluding the savings that would otherwise be incurred
on disposing of the sludge) is more than two and a half times
lower than the Rs 37 at which concrete blocks of the same
size are retailed in the market.
“The conversion of solid waste into bricks carries
many notable advantages,” said Hilary Nath, Head of
Environment Management and Research at Brandix. “A large
volume of primary sludge is generated in the garment washing
industry, and this project enables us to recycle most of it
and contribute to the preservation of the environment. Additionally,
we are producing high quality building material at a very
low cost.”
Explaining the process, he said pumice stones decay during
the washing process and come to the wastewater stream along
with silica silt and pebbles. The silica silt and the pebbles
of pumice stones form a major part of the primary sludge settled
during the physical treatment process. To produce the bricks,
the pumice pebbles are separated from the primary sludge,
crushed and re-mixed with the sludge, waste sand some cement.
This process, perfected at Brandix Finishing earlier this
year, utilises 60 per cent of all the primary sludge generated
by the plant and all of the used pumice stone and sandblast
sand. With two people working on the project for two and a
half hours a day, the company can produce 50 sludge bricks.
The curing process takes 21 days, at the end of which the
bricks reach their full compressive strength.
The Rehab Lanka Training Centre, which will be the first
building to be built with these bricks will comprise of a
facility to train differently-abled people in the operation
of sewing machines and a workshop for the fabrication of wheel
chairs and other aides for the differently-abled. The centre
is one of many skills development initiatives coming under
Marks & Spencer’s Marks & Start programme, which
aims to give the opportunity of work experience to differently-abled
people, the homeless, young unemployed and parents looking
to return to work.
Brandix pioneered the concept of total solutions in the Sri
Lankan apparel industry and is Sri Lanka’s largest apparel
exporter with a consolidated annual turnover of over US$ 320
million. The Group’s CSR initiatives are primarily focused
on water, which it uses in large volumes in its manufacturing
processes. Brandix has invested Rs 25 million in a training
facility and laboratory for water conservation and management
in Anuradhapura. Other initiatives include providing water
through desalination plants, wells and pipe-borne water to
communities in and around the Group’s manufacturing
plants. The scope of the Group’s projects has also been
extended to encompass sanitation.
November 19, 2007 |
